SWAROVSKI OPTIK presents the winner of the “Digiscoper of the Year 2011” award 15

Absam, Tyrol, 2nd December 2011: SWAROVSKI OPTIK has chosen Tara Tanaka as the winner of its international “Digiscoper of the Year 2011” competition. The American’s entry was awarded first place by a jury of international birding and digiscoping experts together with photographers and the general public.

Now in its sixth year, the “Digiscoper of the Year” photography competition, organised by SWAROVSKI OPTIK, drew a high number of international entrants, with more than 1,200 photos submitted. During the 4-month competition, the digiscoping photos were also displayed on Facebook, where Facebook fans chose the three most popular photos every month, with a SWAROVSKI OPTIK fleece jacket being awarded as a prize.

Tara Tanaka from the US impressed both the expert and public members of the jury with her striking digiscoping picture of a roseate spoonbill, which won her the title of “Digiscoper of the Year 2011”. Her prize for coming first is a set of SWAROVSKI OPTIK digiscoping equipment comprising an ATM/STM magnesium telescope, a 25 – 50 X wide-angle zoom eyepiece, a telescope rail, a camera adapter and a CT 101 carbon tripod with a DH 101 tripod head.

Second place went to Mario Cea Sánchez from Spain, who managed to hold on to his position from last year. He was able to take his unique night-time picture of a flying little owl using various lighting systems. This photo is an impressive demonstration of the wide variety of areas where digiscoping can be applied. His prize was an item of SWAROVSKI OPTIK equipment to the value of an EL 42 SWAROVISION binocular.

Miguel Angel Muñoz Herrero, also from Spain, took third place. His entry was an unusual snapshot of a common kestrel that is flying rapidly while also looking back. He was awarded binoculars from the EL 32 series.

As in previous years, the “Digiscoper of the Year 2011” was again chosen on the basis of the combined scores from the international jury of experts and a public vote by registered visitors to the “Digiscoper of the Year” website. The selection criteria for the jury were the relevance to the competition’s theme, as well as the aesthetic aspect of the photographs and picture sharpness. The best 20 digiscoping photographs submitted have been published by SWAROVSKI OPTIK at www.digiscoperoftheyear.com. In addition, the photographers will have their names published and will each receive a cash prize of EUR 300.

Digiscoping is a neologism for the activity of using a digital camera to record distant images by coupling it with an optocal telescope.